Valve is moving the needle for how we assess game performance on the Steam Store. They’re incorporating average FPS telemetry data into product listings on the Store.
Valve introduces community-sourced frame rate data to Steam Store listings
This change is significant because it provides a tangible measure of how smooth a game will run before purchase. This helps eliminate some of the guesswork that often results in buyer’s remorse. Instead of just looking at minimum system requirements, users now have access to actual FPS data from the community.
For starters, it’s rolling out for Steam Deck users. It’ll display average frame rates from users who chose to participate in the data sharing program.
Valve filters this data to reflect performance at default frame limit settings. This gives a consistent baseline for comparison. Despite different settings within games, Valve says the ranges are actually pretty tight. So, the average is generally a good representation for most games.
This telemetry data is available to Steam Client Beta users right now. This is a chance for early access to test its accuracy.
They’re initially focusing on the handheld experience with this. So, the metrics make sense for the specific constraints of the Steam Deck hardware. Desktop PC is on the roadmap.
That could include Steam Machines and typical gaming PCs. As the data set expands.
Moving away from theoretical benchmarks to real-world player experience. This gives us a more practical understanding of game optimization.
We’ll see this become a standard way to assess performance for the entire Steam library once desktop support is added. The beta stage now lets Valve fine-tune how it displays and filters data before a broader rollout.
So, Valve confirms average FPS data is now up in the Steam Client Beta for Deck users. This gives us a nice, community-sourced measure of performance to aid in purchase decisions. Desktop support is in the works, but there’s no clear timeline yet on when it’ll expand more broadly.
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